While
The Glass House is not a bad film, it could've been a lot
better. House can be added to the long list of films stamped with "dumb, teen horror flick" on them.
The first problem with this film is the storyline, which is
really not engrossing, and worse yet, it's unbelievably predictable. I
was always one step ahead of the main character, and if you've
seen countless films of this caliber, which I'm sure you have,
then you'll be one step ahead here, too.
So here's the story: Rebellious 16-year-old Ruby Baker
(Sobieski) goes out with her friends without her parents'
permission and comes home late at night to find her home surrounded by
the police. At first, she thinks that her parents reported her
to police, but it turns out that Ruby's parents have died in a
car accident. And, along with her younger brother, Rhett (Trevor
Morgan), they are sent to live with the Glasses couple, Terry (Skarsgård) and Erin (Lane).
But things aren't what they seem after moving in with this new
foster family.
There are some pluses to the film and it does manage to have a
fair amount of suspense, but it doesn't rack the gore
level up to "scare" us enough, hence the PG-13 rating. Also,
the performances aren't too bad. Sobieski manages to pull in a
good performance as the rebellious protagonist, while Skarsgård (Deep Blue Sea) is a little
over-the-top as Terry, but still good enough, and Lane is a little
stale as Erin. In addition, the movie manages to look good in terms of
style, which is an obvious plus.
Overall, however, The Glass House isn't worth the full
price of admission, but it might be a good matinee for people
who don't mind these kinds of mindless thrillers.
